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Cork carer's confrontation with Simon Harris in election campaign sparked barrage of emails
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href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/">Homepage</a></li><li class=breadcrumb-item><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/">news</a></li><li class=breadcrumb-item><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/">Politics</a></li></ul><h1 class="article-title "><span>Cork carer's confrontation with Simon Harris in election campaign sparked barrage of emails</span></h1><div class=teaser>While some of the reaction was negative towards the Fine Gael leader, at least half of the correspondence sent to the Department of the Taoiseach supported him</div><figure><img src="/cms_media/module_img/8979/4489804_17_articlexlarge_Harris_Charlotte_Fallon_2.jpg" title="Cork carer's confrontation with Simon Harris in election campaign sparked barrage of emails" alt="Cork carer's confrontation with Simon Harris in election campaign sparked barrage of emails" data-src="/cms_media/module_img/8979/4489804_17_articlemedium_Harris_Charlotte_Fallon_2.jpg" fetchpriority=high loading=eager sizes="(max-width: 520px) calc(100vw - 60px), (max-width: 767px) 438px, 576px" srcset="/cms_media/module_img/8979/4489804_17_articlexlarge_Harris_Charlotte_Fallon_2.jpg 1600w, /cms_media/module_img/8979/4489804_17_articlelarge_Harris_Charlotte_Fallon_2.jpg 1200w, /cms_media/module_img/8979/4489804_17_articlemedium_Harris_Charlotte_Fallon_2.jpg 800w, /cms_media/module_img/8979/4489804_17_articlesmall_Harris_Charlotte_Fallon_2.jpg 600w"> <figcaption class=imgFCap><p>The Kanturk video exchange was a major stumble in Mr Harris’ general election campaign running up hundreds and thousands of views across social media. Picture: RTÉ News</p></figcaption></figure></div></div><div class="byline date-byline">Wed, 05 Feb, 2025 - 13:00</div><div class=author-byline><div class="byline">Ken Foxe</div></div><div class=generic-text><div class="ctx_content"><div class=share-buttons-mobile><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41568475.html" class=share-popup id=share-f aria-label="Share on Facebook" target=popup><i class="fa fa-facebook-f"></i></a> <a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=Irish Examiner - https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41568475.html" id=share-w aria-label="Share on WhatsApp" data-action=share/whatsapp/share target=popup><i class="fa fa-whatsapp"></i></a> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41568475.html" class=share-popup id=share-x aria-label="Share on X" target=popup><svg width=19 height=19 aria-hidden=true viewbox="0 0 24 24"><g><path d="M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z"></path></g></svg></a><span id=expand-share><i class="fa fa-ellipsis-v"></i><div class=expanded-icons style="display: none"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41568475.html" class=share-popup id=share-l aria-label="Share on LinkedIn"><i class="fa fa-linkedin"></i></a> <a href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41568475.html&title=Cork carer's confrontation with Simon Harris in election campaign sparked barrage of emails" class=share-popup id=share-r aria-label="Share on Reddit"><i class="fa fa-reddit-alien"></i></a> <a href="mailto:?subject=Irish Examiner Article&body=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41568475.html" id=share-m aria-label="Share - mail" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-envelope"></i></a></div></span></div><story><p class="">Simon Harris received a barrage of emails after a viral incident where he was confronted by a carer in Kanturk during the election campaign.</p><p class="">However, at least half of the correspondence sent to the Department of the Taoiseach supported him with some people saying it had been “overblown”. Others took issue with how Mr Harris handled the incident with one saying the Fine Gael leader had “dug [his] own grave” during the encounter.</p><div class="inline-paywall-IE-template"><p class=""></p><script src="//landmark.bbvms.com/launchpad/" class=optanon-category-C0004 defer type="text/plain"></script><figure class="imgF bbw-embed" style="background: url('data:image/svg+xml;base64,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') center no-repeat"><svg class=play-btn-svg width=35 height=35 viewBox="0 0 72 72"><path d="m19.5816 55.6062c.4848.1782 1.0303.297 1.5758.297.8485 0 1.697-.297 2.4242-.7722l30-15.9793.303-.297c.7879-.7722 1.2121-1.7227 1.2121-2.7919s-.4242-2.0791-1.2121-2.7919l-.303-.297-30-16.0981c-1.0909-.8316-2.6667-1.0098-4-.4752-1.5152.594-2.4848 2.0791-2.4848 3.683v31.8397c-.0001 1.6039.9696 3.0889 2.4848 3.6829z" fill=none stroke=#F15A22 stroke-linejoin=round stroke-miterlimit=10 stroke-width=4></path></svg><div id="v8736176072807"></div><div id="d8736176072807"></div></figure><script class=optanon-category-C0005 type="text/plain"> function createPlayer8736176072807 (n, t) { var i = new bluebillywig.Player(t, { target: document.getElementById('v' + n), autoPlay: 'false' }); i.setMuted(!1); i.on('loadedclipdata', function(){ var t=i.getClipData().description; $('#d' + n).html('<figcaption class=imgFCap>' + t + '</figcaption>')} ) } var intervalId8736176072807; var counter8736176072807 = 0; intervalId8736176072807 = setInterval(function() { if (typeof bluebillywig !== 'undefined') { createPlayer8736176072807('8736176072807', '//landmark.bbvms.com/p/ie_default/c/6072807.json'); clearInterval(intervalId8736176072807); } if(counter8736176072807 > 6){ clearInterval(intervalId8736176072807); } counter8736176072807 ++; }, 500); </script><script type=application/ld+json> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "Simon Harris and Kanturk carer", "description": "Fine Gael leader Simon Harris was approached during a canvass this evening by a woman who says she is a carer, and who said she believes the Government has "done nothing for us". Video: RTÉ News", "thumbnailUrl": [ "https://landmark.bbvms.com/mediaclip/6072807/pthumbnail/700/default.jpg" ], "uploadDate": "2024-11-23T16:17:54Z", "embedUrl": "https://landmark.bbvms.com/p/ie_default/c/6072807.html" } </script><p></p><p class="">One carer wrote of how they had admired the then-Taoiseach but had changed the way they intended to vote because of the video.</p><div data-ad-unit-id="2695176/IrishExaminer/ROS_InContent" id="div-gpt-ad-incontent-0"> <script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function(){ googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-incontent-0");}); </script> </div><p class="">They said: “[All it needed was] a quiet moment listening to that lady, looking in her eyes and saying, ‘I care’. I think you mistook her tone for something perhaps akin to grievance. I didn't. 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West</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523920.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Kerry</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41522849.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Clare</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523929.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Limerick City</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523932.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Limerick County</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523965.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Tipperary North</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523968.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Tipperary South</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523971.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Waterford</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41522885.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Dublin Bay North</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41522888.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Dublin Bay South</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41522894.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Dublin Central</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41522900.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Dublin Fingal East</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523650.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Dublin Fingal West</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523887.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Dublin Mid West</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523893.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Dublin North West</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523896.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Dublin Rathdown</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523899.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Dublin South Central</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523902.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Dublin South West</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41524112.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Dublin West</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523908.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Dun Laoghaire</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41522840.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Carlow/Kilkenny</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523923.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Kildare North</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41522651.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Kildare South</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523926.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Laois</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523935.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Longford/Westmeath</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523938.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Louth</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523944.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Meath East</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523950.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Meath West</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523953.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Offaly</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523974.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Wexford</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523977.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Wicklow</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523980.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Wicklow/Wexford</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41522843.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Cavan/Monaghan</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41522879.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Donegal</p> </div> </a> <a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523911.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Galway East</p> </div> </a> <a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523914.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Galway West</p> </div> </a> <a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523941.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Mayo</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523956.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Roscommon/Galway</p> </div> </a><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/ireland/arid-41523959.html" style="text-decoration: none;color: black;"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center align-content-center menuText" style="width: 100%;text-align: center;scroll-snap-align: start;"> <p style="padding: 0px;margin: 0px;line-height: 35px;">Sligo/Leitrim</p> </div> </a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <style> .menuText p{ font-size: 15px; width: 100%; border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(0,0,0,0.12); margin-bottom: 0px; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-weight: 600; padding:0px; margin:0px; line-height:35px; } .menuText { padding:0px; margin:0px; } @media (max-width: 576px) { .DimWidth { width: 100%; padding-left:15px; padding-right:15px; } } @media (min-width: 577px) { .DimWidth { width: 85%; } } @media (max-width: 576px) { .DimWidth1 { width: 100%; } } @media (min-width: 577px) { .DimWidth1 { width: 100%; } } </style><p class="">Another wrote of how the incident had been “blown out of all proportion” trying to claim Mr Harris had been set up.</p><p class="">Their email said: “Most people with a jot of sense will see the incident for what it really was rather than what social and mainstream media have made it out to be.” </p><p class="">One person said Mr Harris had been “doing great” and they had been caught out in similar situations. An email said: “My opinion is Fine Gael disability services strategy should be clearly verbalised by all this week.</p><p class="">“I hear Micheál Martin on about it this morning and you should use the opportunity each time someone brings it back up [to] use it to get another 100 votes.” </p><div data-ad-unit-id="2695176/IrishExaminer/ROS_InContent" id="div-gpt-ad-incontent-1"> <script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function(){ googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-incontent-1");}); </script> </div><p class="">Another said they felt “very sorry” for how Mr Harris had been treated despite the work he had done for people with disabilities and their families. The parent, who had a son with disabilities, wrote: “I hope you have an overwhelming victory over the begrudgers and whiners.” </p><p class="">One person said the incident had shown Mr Harris’s “true colours”. “Arrogant and incompetent, you won’t be getting my vote,” they said.</p><p class="">A carer said that he had shown “animosity” towards people who work in disability.</p><p class="">They wrote: “The disregard you have shown for the lifeblood of this country is despicable. I’ve been a carer my whole life and you know who has made our lives worse? Fine Gael.” </p><p class="">Another email said the concerns raised during the viral incident should have been “raised properly by appointment”. “You are doing an amazing job,” said the message. “The lady in Cork had no right to speak to you as she did.” </p><p class=""></p> <div style="max-width: 640px;padding: 0px;border-top-width: 1px;border-top-style: solid;border-bottom-width: 1px;border-bottom-style: solid;margin-top: 15px;"> <a href="https://form.jotform.com/200913843322044?urlOf11=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Farid-41568475.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <div class="row d-flex justify-content-around" style="margin: 0px;padding-top: 8px;padding-bottom: 8px;"> <div class="col-lg-6 col-xl-6 d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center" style="padding: 0px;margin-top: 8px;margin-bottom: 8px;"> <p style="text-align: right;font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', sans-serif;font-size: 20px;line-height: 22px;padding: 0px;padding-left: 10px;padding-right: 10px;margin: 0px;"><em> What's your view on this issue? </em></p> </div> <div class="col-12 col-lg-5 col-xl-5 d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center" style="padding: 0px;background: url('//irishexaminer.com/cms_media/module_ob/0/35_1_quote.svg') top / contain no-repeat;height: 45px;"> <p style="text-align: right;font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', sans-serif;font-size: 21px;line-height: 22px;padding: 0px;padding-left: 10px;padding-right: 10px;margin: 0px;color: rgb(255,255,255);"><em>You can tell us here</em></p> </div> </div> </a> </div> <p></p><p class="">One voter said they wanted to know more about the Taoiseach’s apology and what they said was a “complete disrespect and disinterest” towards marginalised communities.</p><p class="">Their email said: “When confronted with difficult questions from the people you govern your response was to just walk away. Is that your attitude to difficult problems in the Irish country as well?” </p><p class="">Another recommended that Mr Harris get a “happy photo” with the person involved and get it “on the front of every newspaper”. “That will be the end of it and no more apologising,” said the message.</p><p class="">The Kanturk video exchange was a major stumble in Mr Harris’ general election campaign running up hundreds and thousands of views across social media.</p><p class="">There was also controversy over Fine Gael’s contact with broadcaster RTÉ after the clip was broadcast and posted online.</p><p class=""><div class='multi-readmore' ><h3>Read More</h3><div class='readmore-wrapper'><div class="readmore-text readmore-item"><div class=quad-angle><span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span></div><a href="/opinion/columnists/arid-41526029.html" class=readmore-event id="readmore-41526029" target="_blank">Jennifer Horgan: We put up our defences and present ourselves as nothing less than perfect</a> <script type=speculationrules> { "prefetch": [ { "source": "list", "urls": ["/opinion/columnists/arid-41526029.html"] } ] } </script></div> </div></div></p></div><div data-ad-unit-id="2695176/IrishExaminer/ROS_InContent" id="div-gpt-ad-incontent-2"> <script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function(){ googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-incontent-2");}); 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